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Simple & Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes

I had a request from a friend (hollaaaa KS) to put together a post about creating your own salad dressings at home. When I started the SCD last year, and really began dissecting every piece of the ingredient labels on everything, I was blown away by all of the unnecessary additives that were in some of my favorite salad dressings. At that point I began mixing up my own little concoctions. (Note: I don’t follow the SCD anymore, but now follow a mostly gluten-free and low refined sugar diet).

I don’t really use recipes too often, I mostly just throw some things together and see how they turn out, but I was able to find a few measured recipes from my collection along with other dressings that were just thrown together (no measurements documented) but you can still get the idea. You will start to notice a trend: simplicity.

Now, this isn’t to say that I don’t use store-bought salad dressings from time to time, because I do, but mostly I try and stick to the au natural homemade style.

So, get ready for a Salad Dressing Round-Up!

One of my go-to’s is a mustard dressing which is simply deli style mustard (about 2 tablespoons), apple cider vinegar (about 1 tablespoon), a sprinkle of garlic powder, onion powder, and a little water. I gave it all a good stir and then drizzled it over the salads. Often I will crack some black pepper into the dressing too.

Next up, Peanut Chicken Salad<——click on link for salad and dressing recipe. I don’t make this one too often but when I do I am floored. It’s AMAZING. I can’t take credit for this one though!

Next is an actual recipe-recipe with measurements and all, for Greek dressing. I poured this dressing over a tomato, zucchini, olive, and feta Greek salad and it got rave reviews! For this salad recipe, head on over here: Greek Tomato Salad

Next up is a thick and simple avocado dressing that is perfect on top of a taco salad and could be used on many salad creations. For this salad recipe click here: Taco Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

Creamy Avocado Dressing

Ingredients

1 1/2 ripe avocados

1/4 cup cilantro

1 Tbsp. tomatillo salsa*

salt and pepper

*I wanted to add lime juice to this dressing instead of salsa but didn’t have any on hand so substituted with green tomatillo salsa. It turned out great! Lime juice would definitely work too, though.

Directions

In food processor, blend all ingredients until smooth.

Sometimes I will use cottage cheese as my “dressing”: a bowl of fat-free cottage cheese with peas, tomato, avocado, pepper, and chia seeds and it was VERY good.

Sometimes I will use hummus or a spritz of olive oil to dress my salads… In this salad below was mixed spring greens, broccoli, carrots, red pepper, celery, a spritz of olive oil, hummus, and sunflower seeds. Wowza it was GOOD.

Salsa also makes a perfect dressing and it’s a very healthy choice…

An over-easy egg on top of a big veggie salad packs an extra punch of protein and the yolk serves as a dressing.

Another dressing I will make sometimes is a strawberry puree: I will take about 1/2 cup of frozen strawberries, thaw them in the microwave, and use a food processor or a fork to mash them up into a thick puree, and then that’s it! I pour it over a salad with mixed greens, avocado, berries, black beans, and feta cheese, and call it a perfectly simple meal.

As you can see, I try to keep it simple as much as possible. It is so easy to get creative with salad dressings. You can mix a dash of olive oil with a bit of balsamic vinegar and have a very simple dressing. Another one I like to make is mix honey with dijon mustard and a touch of warm water and mix it up and you have honey mustard in seconds.

If you are going to use store-bought dressings, that is OK, just take a second to peak at the ingredient label and make sure you can recognize the ingredients listed. The best one I’ve found so far is Annie’s Light Goddess dressing. The ingredient label passes my test.

Besides that, I haven’t looked too hard for other substitutes because I don’t mind making my own. I still like to enjoy my Newman’s Own Lite Honey Mustard on occasion though. It is still so tasty!

The possibilities are endless. Don’t be afraid to start mixing your own salad dressings! Chances are good that they will turn out GREAT!

9 thoughts on “Simple & Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes”

Awesome post! This is definitely going to come in handy. I am trying to get away from bottled dressings and I am also getting bored with the traditional dressings that I have been eating. I need to spice up my salads a bit! I especially cannot wait to try the Greek dressing :).cleaneatingveggiegirl recently posted…WIAW: June 5, 2013…Mostly…

I agree about homemade salad dressings – they often taste better, have better ingredients and are just plain easier! I am going to have to try your avocado dressing. I love avocados!! I also love salsa as a salad dressing – that’s one of my favs.Katie @ running4cupcakes recently posted…National Running Day: 2013

Oh, the avocado dressing sounds scrumptious! I usually use Newman’s Own Oil and Vinegar dressing but it’s nice to make your own and mix it up sometimes. I’ll have to look out for the Annie’s one too, that sounds good.Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health recently posted…Ramona Braganza 321 Workout Level One DVD Review

All of these beautiful photos of veggie-packed salads are making me crave one! I’m going to have to make one for lunch tomorrow and try to pick just ONE of your dressings to drizzle on top 🙂Becky @ Olives n Wine recently posted…What would YOU be doing?

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Disclaimer: This blog serves as an outlet for my own personal experiences, opinions, and relevant nutrition-related information, but is not meant to be used as a primary nutrition information source or "meal plan". Before using this information to make any changes to your diet or lifestyle, I strongly recommend that you speak with your physician. If you are interested in wellness coaching and/or nutrition consulting, please contact me at beautifullynutty@gmail.com.
**NOTE: I do not post everything I eat on the blog.***